SLAB ON GRADE

TAHIR M. AKRAM
CRACKING IN R. C.
Cracks are induced in RC members by the
action of loads and by environmental
conditions.
If a small cube of concrete is cast, it will
not exhibit cracking apparent to naked
eye.
If a long specimen with relatively small x-
section is made containing reinforcement,
and the ends of reinforcement are held to
prevent any movement,after a few days it
will be found cracked.

CRACKING IN R. C.
Depending on the relation between the
quantity of reinforcement, the bar size,
and the cross sectional area of concrete,
either a few wide cracks, or a large
number of fine cracks will form.
The cracks are induced by the resistance
of the reinforcement to the strains in the
concrete caused by chemical hydration of
the cement in the concrete mixture.
.
CRACKING IN R. C.
.
Less Steel
Avg width
& spacing
High
Proportion
of Steel
CRACK DISTRIBUTION
Cracking due to early thermal
movement may be controlled by
reinforcement. The objective is to
distribute the overall strain in the
member by reinforcement and by
movement joints, so that the crack
widths are acceptable or, if considered
desirable, that the concrete remains
uncracked.
CRACK DISTRIBUTION
The designer may choose to have
closely spaced movement joints with a
low steel ratio, or widely spaced joints
with a high steel ratio.
The decision is dependant on the size
of the structure, method of
construction, and economics.
CRITICAL STEEL RATIO
b
h
bh
A
s
=
ct y s
bhf f A =
y
ct
crit
s
f
f
bh
A
=
|
.
|

\
|
f
ct
=direct tensile
strength of concrete
CRITICAL STEEL RATIO
f'
c
f
ct
30 1.4
20 1.15
CRACK SPACING
bh f u s f
ct s b
=
2s
f
b
CRACK SPACING
bh f u s f
ct s b
=
|
| t|
t|
s
s
s
s
A
u
N
N
A
u
4
4
4
2
=
= =

bh f
A
s f
ct
s
b
=
|
4
CRACK SPACING
c b
ct
c b
ct
f
f
s
f
f
s

|
2
4
max
=
=
f
ct
=Direct Tensile Stress
f
b
=Bond Stress
Bar Type

f
ct
/f
b
Plain 1
Deformed 2/3
The number and width of cracks which
form depends on the total contraction
strain which is unrelieved by the joints in
the length of section.
The contraction strain is sum of
shrinkage strain and the thermal strain
(due to changes in the ambient
temperatures after the str is complete)
CRACK WIDTHS
Assuming that the steel ratio is greater
than critical steel and with full restraints,
the tensile strain in the concrete may be
assumed to vary from zero adjacent to a
crack to a value c
ult
midway between
cracks at a distance s
max
apart.
The average strain in the uncracked
concrete is therefore 0.5c
ult .
CRACK WIDTHS
The strain due to the maximum crack
width, which is difference between the
total contraction strain and the strain
remaining in the concrete is therefore
given by

CRACK WIDTHS
ult cs te
s
w
c c c 5 . 0
max
+ =


Where
w=maximum crack width
s
max
= maximum crack spacing
c
cs
=total shrinkage strain
c
te
=thermal contraction strain
c
ult
=ultimate tensile strain in concrete
CRACK WIDTHS
ult cs te
s
w
c c c 5 . 0
max
+ =
CRACK WIDTHS
c
ult
=200 strains
c
cs
=100 strains
c
te
=w/s
max
c
te
is therefore due to cooling from peak of
hydration temperature T
1
to ambient
temperature. There is also a further
variation in temperature T
2
due to
seasonal changes after concrete is set.
CRACK WIDTHS
When considering strain due to T
1
an
effective coefficient of expansion of one
half for mature concrete should be used
(due to high creep strain in immature
concrete).
For mature concrete and seasonal
variations due to T
2
, the tensile strength
of the concrete is lower than its bond
strength--------------
CRACK WIDTHS
Hence s is much less for mature
concrete when T
2
is appropriate;thus
the actual contraction can be effectively
halved.
( )
2

2 2
200
100
2
1

5 . 0
2 1
max
2 1
2 1
max
T T
s w
T T
T T
s
w
ult cs te
+
=
+
= + + =
+ =
o
o o
c c c
CRACK WIDTHS
CRACK WIDTHS
o=12x10
-6
/
o
C
T
1
=30
o
C for concreting in summer and 20
o
C for
concreting in winter.
T
2
=20 , 10
o
C respectively for summer and
winter construction. May be taken=0 if full
contraction joints are provided at not more than
15 m c/c.
CRACK WIDTHS
2

2 1
max
T T
s w
+
= o
c b
ct
f
f
s

|
2
max
=
| o
4

2 1
w
T T
f
f
b
ct
c
+
=
THE END